US And EU Agree On Iran

The European Union and the United States have agreed that additional sanctions may be necessary if the Iranian government does not fully and verifiably suspend its enrichment and reprocessing activities, as the United Nations Security Council has mandated. Those activities could lead to the production of a nuclear weapon.

A joint declaration issued at the end of the annual US-EU summit held in Slovenia on June 10th said that the EU and the US would “fully and effectively” implement existing UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Iran because of its refusal to comply with Security Council resolutions concerning its nuclear program. The declaration also said both the EU and the US were “ready to supplement those sanctions with additional measures.”

In a press conference with EU leaders, President George Bush said Europe and the United States are sending Iran’s rulers a “clear message:”

“And that is, we’re going to continue to isolate you; we’ll continue to work on sanctions; we’ll find new sanctions if need be – if you continue to deny the just demands of a free world which is to give up your enrichment program.”

Iranian rulers face a ”fundamental question,” said Mr. Bush:

“Are they going to continue to deny the people of Iran a bright future by basically saying, ‘We don’t care what the world says?’”

“Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly dangerous for world peace,” said President Bush. He cited the threatening statements of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has said that Israel should be wiped off the map:

“If you were in Israel, you would be a little nervous, too, if a leader in your neighborhood announced that he’d like to destroy you. And one sure method of achieving that [goal] is through the development of a nuclear weapon. Therefore, now is the time for all of us to work together to stop them [Iran’s rulers].”

“If Iran’s rulers end up with a nuclear weapon,” said President Bush, “the free world is going to say, ‘Why didn’t we do something about it at the time, before they developed it’? Now is the time for ... strong diplomacy,” said Mr. Bush.